Signup Begins for CRP

USDA will begin taking requests to enroll or re-enroll acreage in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) for Continuous CRP practices and General CRP practices.

The Continuous CRP sign-up will resume May 13.  Environmentally sensitive land devoted to certain conservation practices may be enrolled in CRP at any time under continuous sign-up.  Offers are automatically accepted, provided the land and producer meet certain eligibility requirements.  Offers for continuous sign-up are not subject to competitive bidding.  Producers with expiring contracts or producers with environmentally sensitive land are encouraged to evaluate their options under CRP.

Currently, about 27 million acres are enrolled in CRP.  Producers that are accepted in the sign-up can receive cost-share assistance to plant long-term, resource-conserving covers and receive an annual rental payment for the length of the contract (10-15 years).

For those producers who wish to sign-up acreage into CRP, please be advised to provide the most current copy of the recorded deed to verify ownership.

To be eligible for placement in the CRP continuous sign-up, land must have been planted, or considered planted, to an agricultural commodity four of the six crop years from 2002 to 2007, and be physically and legally capable of being planted.General CRP Sign-UpUSDA will conduct a four-week general sign-up for CRP May 20 thru June 14.  Contracts on 3.3 million acres of CRP are set to expire on Sept. 30, 2013.  Producers with expiring contracts or producers with environmentally sensitive land are encouraged to evaluate their options under CRP.For those producers who wish to sign-up acreage into CRP, please be advised to provide the most current copy of the recorded deed to verify ownership.

To be eligible for placement in the CRP general sign-up, land must have been planted, or considered planted, to an agricultural commodity four of the six crop years from 2002 to 2007, and be physically and legally capable of being planted.

FSA will evaluate and rank eligible CRP offers using an Environmental Benefits Index (EBI) for environmental benefits to be gained from enrolling the land in CRP.  The EBI consists of the following factors-wildlife, water, soil, air and enduring benefits and cost.  Decisions on the EBI cutoff will be made after the signup ends and after analyzing the EBI data of all the offers.

CRP Contract Management ActivitiesCRP grass practice contracts starting with signup #26 have required mid-management activities.  These activities include strip disking, inter-seeding, or burning.  Management activities may NOT be performed during primary nesting season from April 15 – August 1.  Producers with required management activities are being notified individually.  Mowing is not a management activity.  Routine mowing of CRP acreage is prohibited for cosmetic purposes.  Please contact  office if you have any questions regarding maintenance of your CRP practice.

For more information on CRPCheck out these online CRP Fact Sheets for more information:

Conservation Reserve Program

CRP General Sign-Up 45

CRP Sign-Up EBI

For more information, please contact Randy Tillman, County Executive Director, at (217) 347-7107, extension 2, randy.tillman@il.usda.gov. or for Farm Loans, please contact Chris Walsh, Farm Loan Manager, at (217) 347-7107, extension 104, chris.walsh@il.usda.gov.